First of all, a little background. My son will be 8 weeks old tomorrow. I tried to nurse him until he was about 4 weeks old but never had success, even with a lactation specialist. However, he is almost exclusively breastfed because I pump. He has about 2 bottles of formula every 3-4 days just to keep him used to it so that when I decide to stop pumping, it isn't a huge ordeal to switch him over to formula.
Now my problem...This is his 4th day with VERY smelly gas! His gas would be considered REALLY smelly for a grown man. And he does it all day and all night. He doesn't seem to be in pain. The last time he had a BM was the day the stink started and this is the longest he's gone between BMs, but I know that can be normal. I am lactose intolerant and thought that maybe it had something to do with that, but I have been careful about dairy since it started.
Does anybody have any ideas or experience that will help or even just help me laugh through the fumes?
Thanks!
My last baby was stinky. I don't know why but she was exclusively breastfed and her gas and poop smelled horrible!!! The plus side, I knew when she needed to be changed!
I'd try switching formulas to see if that helps - with our daughter, we went from a regular formula to Gentlease (partially broken down, so easier to digest), and it took care of all her BM/gas issues. Good luck!
On days you use formula try a lactose free one (not soy as that can also cause smelly babies) - also high fiber foods in your diet can cause gas in a breast fed infant, as can chocolate.
My LO is extreamely lactose intollerant, and these seemed to help (we did about the same feeding program as you)
Oh this was me and my baby about a year ago. I found out that formula and nursing just weren't mixing. My baby smelled terrible. I really don't have any advice. I stopped giving mine formula and it took care of the problem. But that doesn't sound like an option for you. I just wanted you to know that your baby isn't the only one. My baby had a really hard time pooping when she had formula and that was also the gassy problem. Some breast milk fed babies have a hard time when it comes to formula. Good luck.
I've heard that small babies are a little like dogs -- changes in their diet will make them stink. You might consider cutting out the formula and see if that helps. When you decide to stop pumping, he should take to formula without issue even if he hasn't had it in a long time. It may take a week or more for changes in his/your diet to affect his digestion, so be patient!
The other thing that I noticed is that when my little one had a cold she really could stink up the place. Something about her immune system fighting the bug, I guess. So it could just be a passing thing.
Good luck and maybe you should get an air purifier or something in the mean time. Or just park him near the Christmas tree so the pine smell will help cover his stink. :^)
My third child, out of four, had by far and away a capability to clear a room I had never known possible with an infant! He was exclusively breastfed, no bottles or formula, and like yours was never fussy. He is now 6 1/2 and if I am recalling correctly he had the ability to do this "room clearing" even before he was 4 weeks old. I also want to say it got a little better when he started on solid food---I guess because he was better satiated. He definitely was a good eater and perhaps he was gulping in some air on the breastmilk alone.
Today, he is not as much of a tooter as my other son but I will say he reminds me of Booger from Revenge of the Nerds or John Belushi's character from Animal House when it comes to belching----he can even belch his ABC's. We're SO proud! :0)
Just a quick thought...it may be something that you are eating and you transfer it to him in your milk...look at what you have been eating these past few days and then see if it goes away when you haven't had whatever to eat. :) hope that helps...I know certain things like mushrooms can cause horrible smelling gas - had my 18 month old daughter stinkin worse than her father lol :)
My son has the smellyest gas when he needs to have a BM, so I feel your pain. What I found works is simply keeping his BMs regular. They say it's "normal" for a baby to go days without a BM, but I think that is a load of BS to make us feel better about our kids being stopped up. lol.
What I found works is to put one ounce of Prune Juice in his bottle once a day. He has a BM every day now and his gas isn't smelly unless he starts tooting right before a BM.
Just remember - his toots won't stink unless there's something in there. Get rid of the poo and you'll get rid of the stink. :)
I think it's also possible that it's some kind of mild bug causing the terrible smell. Out of the blue, a few days ago my daughter's gas started smelling UNBELIEVABLE (she's 2 1/2). I actually took her out of bed late at night to change her diaper, thinking she had pooped, but she hadn't. In fact, she didn't poop at all for maybe 24 hours, which is unusual for her. The smell lasted about a day and a half, then it went away and she's pooping again--even a little more frequently than usual. Other than that, she had no symptoms and apparently no pain.
Hi, Laura.
Good job pumping for your baby! A couple thoughts came to mind. First, formula makes for smellier gas. *And* it can take 4 weeks or so for the formula to totally clear a baby's system. If you are able to exclusively use your milk, you might see a big change in the smell (once the formula clears). I wouldn't worry about keeping him used to formula. If the time comes where you are ready to wean, plan to wean slowly, and switch to bottles that are 1/2 breastmilk and 1/2 formula for a few days, and then he should be fine. Using your milk without formula for as long as possible is the best choice.
The other thought is that around 6 weeks or so, babies begin to go longer stretches between poops which naturally creates some gas. For babies who are receiving only breastmilk, it is within the range of normal to go 10 days between poops. (wow!) Formula does create consitpation, though, so it's hard to say if formula is a contributing factor. If it's possible to use just your milk, his poops still might be several days apart, but perhaps they'd smell better.
Good luck!
A.
www.breastandbottlefeeding.com
